GERAINT THOMAS IS set to be fit to defend his Tour de France title next month after avoiding serious injury in a crash on Tuesday.
Team INEOS star Thomas went down in stage four of the Tour de Suisse after colliding with a rival rider, landing on his shoulder and taking a blow to his head.
The knock ruled Thomas out of the remainder of the race, yet his scans came back clear later in the day.
The 33-year-old merely suffered shoulder abrasions and a cut above his right eye, meaning the setback should not keep him out of action for an extended period.
โClearly, itโs frustrating and a small setback for my Tour de France preparations, but thereโs still plenty of time before we start in Brussels in a few weeksโ time,โ Thomas told the INEOS website.
โWe will recalibrate and Iโm sure my coach Tim [Kerrison] will have a plan in place to ensure Iโm ready for July 6.โ
Team doctor Derick Macleod added: โ[Thomas] has been given the all clear, which is great, but we will continue to monitor him over the next few days.
โKnowing Geraint, it wonโt take him long to get back on his bike, but weโll need to ensure heโs symptom free in the next few days before he does so.
โWeโre optimistic heโll make a full recovery over the coming days, though, and all being well, heโll be back on his bike very soon.โ
The news comes as a boost to INEOS, who will be without four-time champion Chris Froome in France after fractures to his right femur, elbow and ribs.
The pair sat out the Giro dโItalia earlier this year, where team-mate Egan Bernal was also absent through injury.
- Omni
Glad itโs not serious but definitely not going to be good for his preparation though.
@Brendan Heery: it means he needs to backload the km and the height metres in the interim also. That said Iโd say heโll be ok.
Chances of the Colombian with an Irish sounding name to be their man ?